Cassandra Pendragon
"The truth at last," I whispered. "That wasn't so hard, was it," I added and turned away towards the buffet, silently recanting my command. "Satisfied?" He blinked owlishly, maybe sluggishly, his mind not quite able to understand what had happened, yet.
"Are you," my mom asked in that special undertone that every child knew and dreaded. And here I was thinking I had done well. Shutting him up without revealing too much was an accomplishment all on its own but apparently she didn't agree. Still, I wasn't a toddler anymore.
I took a bite of a dark, crispy meat, probably duck, smothered in plum sauce, before I replied: "very much so. It could do with a little less salt, though, and I don't quite like the fat under the crust." Her eyes ignited menacingly but she knew as well as I that the time was long gone when I hadn't dared being mouthy with her. She couldn't very well punish me, after all, since I was much more likely to put her across my knees than the other way around. The perks of growing up… that and we might or might not have rehearsed this little piece of play acting beforehand. Well, at least we had talked about it in case something would appear fishy.
Keeping in line with our little charade she hissed menacingly: "Cassandra…" I threw my hands up in the air and, feigning outrage, stomped my foot for good measure.
"Fine. I'll stay out of it. But don't come crying to me when the big bad worm takes a bite out of you." I whirled around and headed for the door. In passing I snarled at the still confused slug: "hopefully you know what you're getting yourself into. For your own sake." I hadn't expected a reply and I wasn't disappointed. A heartbeat later the door slammed shut behind me as I found myself, alone and grinning mischievously, in a broad, rose panelled corridor, the hum of the furnace sounding from my right while a breeze of fresh air from my left carried with it the smell of seawater and sweat. The guards were probably back on duty, suffering in the tropical heat. There truly was no rest for the wicked… as well as me.
With a twist of my awareness I took ahold of the dancing, minuscule distortions my presence caused in the weave around me and smoothened them out. My entire body flickered and became translucent, similar to a hazy, kitsune shaped mirage. I could still be spotted, mind you, but they'd have to be looking for me and that was a much better camouflage than anything my cloak would have provided. Unfortunately I couldn't mask my scent but I simply had to hope that the senses of the guards weren't quite as astute as ours. Come to think of it, they had seemed very human and I could already testify that those weren't exactly known for their sharp noses. Otherwise they'd have put decidedly more consideration into waste management and personal hygiene.
Now, you might be wondering why the, by our standards, rather elaborate plan. That's easily answered. We all wanted to know what was actually going on and looking for ourselves had seemed like the much more sensible approach, especially with how suspiciously forthcoming the worm had been. Sure, being hunted by his own kin might serve as an explanation but I was still willing to bet that there'd be more to the story. Much more.
As for why me when someone like Sera could have simply turned into a spider and explored the entire ship at her leisure: I had volunteered and nobody had been stupid enough to deny me to my face. Well, my mom would have, if she had been of another opinion but for once in our life we were actually on the same page. For different reasons, though.
For me it was mainly a question of allowing Richard and Mordred to prove their mettle and test out their compatibility. Something that would never have happened for as long as I was in the room since everyone we had met recently had always assumed I was the one in charge. Plus I wasn't that interested in getting to know our visitor. Call me biased but I still thought he looked like Jabba the Hut and he gave me the creeps. For my mom… truth be told she had probably just wanted me out of their hair. The incident with the merchant almost turned kebab back on Boseiju might have had something to do with it, but she had downright jumped at the opportunity to get me to leave as soon as possible. Also, I was probably the only one who would get away with that kind of erratic, moody behaviour and not raise any red flags. Me being caught wondering around aimlessly could always be chucked up the crazy princess having one of her episodes.
Anyways, once the murmurs on the other side of the door told me that my brother had taken up the thread I channeled a bit of energy towards my eyes, ears, nose and toes. The blurry, slightly confusing impressions my senses provided me with immediately turned crystal clear and a virtual map slowly came together in my mind. The ship had three levels, similar to most other models I had come across. The lowest floor contained the furnace and the stone chamber, the one above was mostly empty and probably intended as storage, while the one we were on was filled with differently sized cabins, ranging from the opulent hall I had just fled to tiny berths I would have called broom cupboards.
Spells and enchantments were woven into the entire structure, from the smallest topsails to the heaviest beams along the hull. Even the locks and windows contained tiny fragments of power, masterfully crafted into intricate glyphs or irrevocably bound to the very substance of every item. The patterns conjoined in a handful of artefacts, controlled from a large room close by, presumably the bridge or something comparable. The flickering of a few auras told me that I'd have to pass two guarded segments to get there, not to mention the, at least, twenty people I saw romping around at my destination. Still, if I meant to return with something more than: the ship is really big, I'd have to start somewhere and that place surely seemed important.
Making slightly less noise than a panther I prowled down the hall, puzzling over whether or not I'd be able to open a door unnoticed and why there was no one standing guard close by. The Purple Worm might have figured that his soldiers wouldn't do him much good if we decide to solve our differences violently, but I still was surprised that he hadn't even made a token effort and instead sent all his men actually packing. Judging from the glittering lattice of energies I constantly watched they had again returned to either the deck, their cabins or a rather large room further away, presumably a training hall or something similar.
By now you should also have gotten a neat impression of how large the ship actually was. I mean, an audience hall, a training chamber and some kind of magical bridge, all on the same floor with cabins and cupboards sprinkled throughout? The thing was frigging massive, at least 150 metres in length, probably more. Which also made me wonder what kind of stone could lift that immense contraption off the ground and why it had even been sold in the first place. As far as I was aware the truly powerful ones were only used by the elven race for their own war ships but the chubby slug had obviously known whom to bribe. Something else to get to the bottom of. Or maybe my family could find out while I was doing my reconnaissance.
I turned to the right and a few steps later I neared a smooth, polished, wooden door. A cursory glance told me that it had been reinforced, a sheet of metal wedged in between two planks of oak, and that the first guards would appear directly in front of me as soon as I'd stumble through. Which was quite the predicament. Sneaking past a few unsuspecting soldiers shouldn't have been a problem but if I had been to simply open the door and push through, they would have immediately spotted me. Teleporting wasn't a much better idea since my magic was always accompanied by bright flashes, a cloud of ozone and, more often than not, spells and enchantments disintegrating all around me. Which wouldn't have gone unnoticed. Probably.
Once again I briefly lamented my decided lack of versatile skills but if I didn't want to return empty handed and listen to my mom and Reia mock me for the foreseeable future I simply had to figure something out. "Ask and thou shall receive," a velvety, facetious voice sounded in my ear and a heartbeat later I felt Ahri reach through our connection for my core.
"Would you mind telling me what you're up to," I asked but didn't hinder her. "And why are you supervising me again? Don't you have anything better to do?"
"No… which is also why I'm intervening. For the first time in weeks I actually have the time to read again and they have an astounding library just around the corner. Whenever Zara has to meet her "father" I try to spend a few minutes there. I've brushed up on some of the spells I've learned in my youth in the meantime. A few I can cast again and I think… yes, this should do nicely." Aside from the stirring of my powers I didn't feel any different but my perspective shifted, dramatically. I was shrinking. Quickly and inexorably, while a constant thrum of energy leaked from my core.
"Please, tell me you know how to reverse this," I pleaded while I was already more tiny than my mom and still rushing towards the floor.
"I do. Size change isn't that complicated. You'll retain your original mass, though. I don't think you're going to be able to move without using your core. I'll reduce you to the size of an ant. With your own camouflage active no one will spot you and you can crawl through every crack. Just be careful not to break anything. I know you aren't that heavy but your weight combined with a minuscule size might still result in enough pressure. Once you're done I'll get you back to normal."
"Have you tried this before," I asked sceptically, reduced to the size of a thumb by now.
"As in with a person? No… but I've experimented with a few plants." I groaned, which sounded more like the almost inaudible chirping of a bug.
"Great… I've always dreamed of becoming my fiancée's guinea pig."
"First off," she pouted, "you're about as sturdy as granite and your immunities ensure that it won't be forever. If you don't believe me just sever the flow of energy. You'll turn right back. So, even if I wanted to, I couldn't turn you into a Thumbelina permanently. And secondly… do you really have that little faith in my abilities?"
"Your abilities? No… your motives, though… you do know that I can not only feel but practically see you grinning from ear to ear right now, don't you?"
"The curse of telepathy," she complained. "And the people on earth thought that digital communication would prove to be the end of privacy. Do you know what I'm thinking about now?" As soon as I focused I blushed, profusely.
"I do but I'm not going to comment."
"Is that a no?"
"…not necessarily," I admitted abashedly, "but it's a little wild, even for my tastes. Besides, is this really the right moment?"
"Probably not. You're all set. Or do you need to become even smaller?"
"No, I think I'm even tinier than an ant. This will do nicely. I only have to support the spell, right? As soon as I don't it'll break, won't it?"
"I… think so?" Goddamn precocious vixen. Why did I have to become her test subject? "Don't get your tails in a twist, it'll be fine," she added exasperatedly, "but you know as well as I that there is no telling how any spell is going to react to you. It has worked, hasn't it?"
"Up until now. It sort of reminds me of the guy who jumped out of a window on the 10th floor and kept yelling so far so good every time he passed another balcony."
"Don't be melodramatic. Besides, you can fly, can't you?"
"That's not the point, as you very well know. Still, thanks I guess. Just so you know, if I'm going to be stuck like this I'm going to move in with you… or rather build a nest on you."
"In the Shakespearean sense?"
"Get your mind out of the gutter. Once has been enough."
"Can't help it, I'm a teen after all. Besides you aren't any better. You're just too shy to think it explicitly."
"Speaking of age… You know, let's not go there. Will you stay with me?"
"I'll have to run in half an hour or so, but until then sure, if you want me to."
"Always. Well, here I go. While it try to wiggle my way past the door: what have you been up to?"
"Boring stuff, mostly. Trying to puzzle out whom I have to keep you away from at all cost to prevent a civil war, cajoling the ones who are getting suspicious that their prince has somewhat changed the very moment a strange vixen appeared in their midst and… decorating."
"Decorating," I asked absentmindedly while I tried to push past an exceptionally stubborn piece of rotten food. Seriously, was no one ever cleaning underneath the doors? Only when I felt a tiny jolt of embarrassment rush through our connection did I focus fully on her. "Ahri… what aren't you telling me?"
"It's nothing serious," she explained haltingly, "but Zara has… she has given me a house, alright? I thought I'd be nice to have place to stay that's not a tavern or a palace so I've been trying to make it feel like a home for… you know, when you arrive." I froze, still firmly lodged in between a splinter of wood and a seriously smelly junk of grey goo but I didn't care. "Cassy," she asked, "are you still there?"
"I… I honestly don't know what to say."
"That's a first. If you don't want…"
"No! Are you moonstruck? I… I think I've figured it out. Ahri, I love you and there's nothing that would make me happier…"
"Why does it sound like there's a but coming?"
"Because I'll have to bring my sister, at the very least. Baggage, remember? It won't be just the two of us."
"Don't you think I know? This isn't some sort of romantic gesture. I've already known before but the last days… Cassy, I want to spend as much time as I can with you, with you and your family. They… look, you haven't even met them, yet, but just imagine how you're going to feel towards my family. There really is no difference. What's mine is yours and what is yours is mine." I blinked rapidly but I could just as well have saved me the trouble. She knew anyways.
"I want to kiss you so bad right now it actually hurts," I whispered.
"All the more reason to hurry. And just so you known, I've already bought a bed. A proper one." The accompanying images would normally have had me stammering like a nun but right then and there they only made me smile.
"I hope the thing is sturdy. Tomorrow. Tomorrow night we'll put it to the test."
"Don't count your chickens before they've hatched. I can't even remember the last time you actually managed to get anywhere on time."
"This time I will. I'm done missing you and I'm done feeling lonely. Carrying you with me all the time is nice and all but it just isn't the same. I still feel like a piece of my heart is missing."